Wheatley’s vital optimism risks not anticipating the Flashmans September 30, 2012 AFTER decades of Flashman types thriving on trading floors, we now appear to want Captain Mainwarings to restore trust in the banking system. Martin Wheatley, who launched his review into Libor on Friday, will be one of those with most power to do so as the head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Comparisons with [...]
Alexander Mcqueen rides Royal wave September 30, 2012 FASHION brand Alexander McQueen posted a 34 per cent jump in profits last year after gaining “strong exposure” from last year’s Royal nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton, whose wedding dress was designed by its creative director Sarah Burton. The firm increased profits to £5.2m, up from £3.9m, according to a Companies House filing.
Barometer says UK is emerging from the slump September 30, 2012 THE UK is emerging from recession, and will show its recovery with a strong third quarter GDP figure, an influential business survey claims today. Sentiment in retail and other services soared in September, the data released this morning from Lloyds Bank shows, offsetting a slip in manufacturing optimism. Business confidence in non-retail services grew for [...]
London housing market stalls as countrywide weakness hits September 30, 2012 HOUSING engine London ground to a halt in September, data from Hometrack revealed today, as house prices across the UK slipped. Average prices in the capital defied the decline seen in almost all other English regions, where they fell by an average of 0.1 per cent, but only managed to stay completely flat between August [...]
Financial services firms hit by shock contraction in business September 30, 2012 ACTIVITY in the financial services sector slumped in the three months to September, according to survey data released today. Forty-nine per cent of respondents to a survey, jointly carried out by PwC and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said that their business volumes fell – compared to just 30 per cent who said they [...]
Rotisserie chickens hit with VAT rise but pasties get off scot free September 30, 2012 ROTISSERIE chickens are among the products that, from today, will be subject to VAT as chancellor George Osborne rolls out his controversial tax reforms. Though the treasury was forced to U-turn on one aspect of the reform, the so-called pasty tax, it will today extend the 20 per cent tax to food kept hot by [...]
Agency red tape costs £1.5bn September 30, 2012 Agency workers regulations cost firms more than £1.5bn in their first year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said today. Far from benefiting workers, the lobby group says, the swathes of red tape have only led to compliance spending and paper-pushing – and big declines in the hiring of temporary workers. Neil Carberry, CBI director [...]
IT firms expect public sector jobs September 30, 2012 IT contractors’ confidence in the public sector has boomed in the past year, according to recruiter Giant Group. Fifteen per cent of contractors expect public job growth, compared to just eight per cent last year, the agency says. “With the government’s austerity measures, public sector organisations remain under pressure to keep permanent headcount down,” said [...]
Factory workers hit by pay freeze September 30, 2012 The prevalence of pay freezes in manufacturing has risen, driven by uncertainty in the economic climate, according to data released today by trade body EEF and recruiter JAM. One in seven respondents had pay frozen in the three months to August, versus one in nine in the last survey. “Considerable uncertainty stands in the way [...]
Wedding bells for Nick Candy in Beverly Hills September 30, 2012 AUSTERITY wasn’t top of the list this weekend for luxury property developer Nick Candy, as he married actress and singer Holly Valance in California. Candy’s property development career with his brother Christian began when they borrowed £6,000 from their grandmother to turn a £50,000 profit on a flat in Earl’s Court. Today, Candy & Candy’s [...]
